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BRISTOL, R.I. –&�Բ�����;As part of its 15th annual Turkey Basket Contest, ��ܽ����Ƶ students, faculty and staff donated a record 2,648 pounds of food for distribution by the East Bay Food Pantry.

That outpouring of generosity represented a 36 percent increase in donated food from last year. The ��ܽ����Ƶ community also donated $1,633 in cash and grocery gift cards, plus blankets, kitchen utensils, coloring books, paper towels and festive items meant to brighten the holidays for East Bay families.

“I think it just shows the commitment the ��ܽ����Ƶ community has to its neighbors, and that includes faculty, staff and students,” said K.C. Ferrara, ��ܽ����Ƶ’s director of the Feinstein Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement. “Yes, it’s for fun and bragging rights to see who has the most creative basket, but ultimately it’s about giving – and that is part of who we are at Roger Williams.”

Ferrara noted ��ܽ����Ƶ’s goal is “to build the university the world needs now,” and she said, “That allows us to be flexible in our responses as we see what the community needs. We are ready to respond in a variety of ways – whether it’s short-term volunteering, long-term volunteering or charitable giving, for example. And because of our strong relationship with the community, we know those needs.”

��ܽ����Ƶ congratulates the winners of this year’s Turkey Basket Contest. These three departments will be rewarded for their efforts with a $75 gift certificate to Pizza Wave:

Prize for food basket quantity – The Undergraduate Financial Aid Office

Prize for food basket creativity – The Law School’s Feinstein Center

The “You’re Awesome” prize – The Bursar’s Office

The East Bay Food Pantry, which serves some 700 households, will distribute the food this week. For more information about the organization, go to .